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(January 15, 2026 / JNS) Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, announced a settlement agreement with Betar US on Tuesday, drawing criticism of a double standard for not taking similar legal action against anti-Israel groups.
The settlement came after the attorney general “found that the group repeatedly targeted individuals based on religion and national origin,” her office stated. It added that its investigation turned up “evidence of Betar’s widespread persecution of Muslim, Arab, Palestinian and Jewish New Yorkers, driven by broad hostility and animus toward several protected groups, in violation of New York civil rights laws.”
“The settlement requires Betar to immediately cease instigating or encouraging violence against individuals, threatening protesters and harassing individuals exercising their civil rights, and subjects the organization to a suspended $50,000 penalty that will be enforced if Betar violates the agreement,” the state attorney general’s office said.
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Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, told JNS that “James should be pursuing the actual extremist groups that harass and attack Jews and call for the death of every Jew,” which he said are groups like Within Our Lifetime and Students for Justice in Palestine.
Betar, on the other hand, is “a storied organization that defends Jews who are attacked by anti-Jewish groups,” he said.
Klein said James’s “aggressive pursuit of Betar and resulting settlement agreement sends a terrible message that defending Jews makes one an ‘extremist’” and that the charges against Betar are “highly distorted.”
“This will encourage more attacks on Jews and discourage Jewish self-defense,” he said.
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